Temby: Libertarian candidate asks you to vote your conscience

Related Media

My name is Ellen Temby. I am the Libertarian Party candidate for state representative. It seems that many people in our community do not know who I am, so here is a brief history.

I was born in Orange, Texas, in 1961 - my mom was a teacher and stay-at-home mom. My dad worked in factories all over the world, and I got to live in Spain and Canada. My parents recently celebrated 60 years of marriage. I have an older sister, who is a self-taught sommelier, judging wine competitions all over the world. I have two brothers, one in San Diego and one in London. As a kid, I was a tomboy, playing all kinds of sports, with a soft spot for injured animals. As a teen, I was a candy striper at a local hospital, logging hundreds of hours, while maintaining above a 3.0 GPA in high school, working part-time, and playing competitive soccer and roller hockey. I entered the world of politics, campaigning hard for passage of a local amendment in Walnut Creek, Calif. (It passed). I attended the University of the Pacific, joined AXO sorority and was part of the band on flag corps. I played four years of varsity soccer as a starting defender and worked part-time. In my senior year, I was honored to be the first student chosen from UOP for an honors internship program in Washington D.C. through The Washington Center.

Here my love developed for the court and legislative system. I graduated with a double major in psychology and sociology. Since 1983, I have lived in the Bay Area, San Diego, Los Angeles, Madrid and Summit County (since 1995). My jobs included working for a talent agent in Hollywood, teaching English to executives in Madrid, Spain, working in real estate acquisitions and management, starting four businesses, serving as director of human resources for a resort and later a construction company, working in food and beverage, working for a lawyer and later a judge. My current passions in life are kids and real estate. I have been a mentor with Mountain Mentors since 1996, am a licensed foster parent, and volunteered as a 4H leader, where, in my first year as a leader, I was selected Leader of the Year. I own two real estate businesses, specializing in low-income housing. I am fluent in Spanish, and many local immigrant families are among my friends. Besides Mountain Mentors, I also volunteer at sports events, ski resorts, the animal shelter, and am raising $40,000 to provide wheelchairs to impoverished disabled people in third-world countries through the charity freewheelchairmission.org.

This life was possible because of the one great promises of our country - the pursuit of liberty and happiness. This aligns me perfectly with the Libertarian Party, which stands for maximizing personal freedom (choice) and minimizing government intrusion (control) in our everyday lives. Integrity (personal responsibility) is the foundation. Some people think Libertarians are about dismantling the government. Not true. What we are about is each person's right to choose - whom you marry, what you do with your body, with whom you choose to be sexually intimate, what color you paint your home - without a governmental agency limiting those choices. Do you realize that in the U.S., we have 30 choices of toilet paper and 100 choices of breakfast cereals, but when all is said and done, two choices for president? That's flat out backwards. I'm running for office to be the front line of change resulting in dozens of viable candidates for every elective office. Government has become about power and money, arguing, mudslinging, infighting, bickering, taxation without mercy and spending without conscience. You and I can change that. All you need to do is vote your conscience. Choose a candidate who best represents your beliefs about how you want your life. People agree that our political system is broken. Many have become apathetic, thinking their vote does not matter. Every single vote matters. It is time for change. Our system will never change, until we change it with our votes. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this great state. Email me questions: ellentemby4staterepresentative@gmail.com.

Ellen Temby is the Libertarian candidate for House District 61, and resides in Blue River.